Flash: Vertical Velocity is an Intamin Impulse coaster at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. It opened on May 18, 2001, as Vertical Velocity (nicknamed “V2”), and it has no inversions. It is a shuttle coaster, so the train runs back and forth along a single U-shaped track instead of making a full circuit. Riders sit in suspended, inverted-style seats with their feet dangling.
The ride was repainted from blue to red and reopened in 2022 with a DC Comics theme built around The Flash, in the park’s DC Universe area. The ride is short, but it packs a 70 mph launch and a nearly vertical climb into a small footprint.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, Illinois
- Manufacturer: Intamin (Impulse coaster)
- Opened: May 18, 2001
- Height: About 186 feet
- Top speed: 70 mph
- Length: About 630 feet
- Inversions: 0
- Train: One 28-passenger train (7 cars, 2 rows of 2 riders each)
The Ride Experience
Linear induction motors (LIMs) fire the train out of the station from 0 to 70 mph in about four seconds. The train climbs a spiraling, twisted spike tower, reaching roughly 186 feet, then stops and falls back down the same track. It rushes backward through the station and up the second spike tower at the other end, and the cycle repeats over several passes.
The suspended, feet-dangling seating and the near-vertical climbs make the ride feel more intense than its short length suggests. Riders spend the peaks hanging at the top of each tower before the train drops back.
From V2 to The Flash
When it opened in 2001, Vertical Velocity was billed as the fastest inverted roller coaster in the world. Wicked Twister at Cedar Point took that title in 2002. In September 2021 the ride closed, and its supports were repainted red.
The park announced the retheme on March 24, 2022, and the ride reopened as The Flash: Vertical Velocity. Great America was not alone in this: Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in California also have Flash: Vertical Velocity coasters.
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Flash: Vertical Velocity FAQs
How fast is Flash: Vertical Velocity?
It reaches 70 mph. LIM motors launch the train from 0 to 70 mph in about four seconds.
Does Flash: Vertical Velocity go upside down?
No. It has zero inversions. The seats are suspended with feet dangling, but the train shuttles up and down two spike towers instead of looping.
What was Flash: Vertical Velocity called before?
It opened in 2001 as Vertical Velocity, nicknamed “V2”. It was rethemed to The Flash in 2022.
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Photo: Jonrev at English Wikipedia / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.